Game Day: Coyotes vs Canadiens – Preview, Lines, Goalies, TV, Fantasy
Jordan Lambe
Pre-game Notes and Quotes
Carey Price has been skating on his own all week, but was able to participate in team practice on Wednesday, he was quoted saying the following: “It seemed like three months, but fortunately for us, the team kept pushing on and played well and was able to give me the chance to take my time,”
General Manager Don Maloney: “It’s frustrating. If you think about the last couple years our power play was one of the best in the League, what’s encouraging me is that our 5-on-5 play is so much better. We know if we can stay even strength that we can stay in most games… (The power play) is certainly a sore spot for us right now. It has to be better… We don’t have Keith Yandle anymore but we certainly have enough talent to score.”
LarsEller on Monday night’s win over the Canucks:“It was important [to win this game]. We’d rather be up 3-0, of course. I think it’s the first time this season we came back from being down more than one or two goals. It’s very satisfying. It builds character in the room and it builds confidence,”
Oliver Ekman-Larsson is riding a career high six game point streak (tied for the second longest active point streak in the NHL). Ekman-Larsson was drafted by the Coyotes at the Bell Centre during the 2009 NHL entry Draft.
Both Alexander Semin (healthy scratch) and Alexei Emelin (lower-body) have already been ruled out for Thursday’s game.
The Coyotes have only one a single game at the Bell Centre since 1996.
The Canadiens are in 6th position in the league in goals against with 42 in 18 games. The Coyotes have allowed 54 goals against in their first 18 games and place in a tie for 22ed in the NHL.
The Canadiens are only a single goal behind the offensive powerhouse Dallas Stars for first in the league in goals for, as they currently have 67 goals in 19 games. The Coyotes are doing much better than most people expected of them to start the season, as they have put up 50 goals over their first 18 games. A total of 50 goals places the Coyotes in a tie for 14th place in the league.
Matchup
Bell Centre, Montreal, QC. | November 14, 7:00 PM ET | TV: TVAS, SN, ALT
2015-16 statistics
COYOTES
CANADIENS
19 (18th)
Points (League rank)
28 (3rd)
9-8-1
Record
14-3-2
3-4-0
Home
8-1-1
6-4-1
Road
6-2-1
5-5-0
Last 10
5-3-2
2.78
G/G
3.53
3.00
GA/G
2.16
12.5
PP%
23.9
80.9
PK%
86.4
48.5
CF%*
53.4
48.5
CF60*
56.2
51.5
CA60*
49.0
*Advanced statistics: Score adjusted, even strength. CF%: Corsi for percentage of total CF60: Corsi For/60 minutes CA60: Corsi Against/60 minutes (via War on Ice)
Projected forward lines, defense pairings and goaltenders
Forwards
Rieder – Hanzel – Duclair
Domi – Vermette – Boedker
Chipchura – Richardson – Doan
Martinook – Gordon – Cunningham
Mike Condon has finally started to cool down after his exceptional start to the season while placing as Carey Price’s replacement. Condon has allowed 10 goals on only 71 shots over his last three games, although his record in those games stands at 1-1-1. In going forward, all signs point to Carey Price returning next week and then Condon’s fantasy value will plummet as his playing time will dramatically decrease. If you are presented with the opportunity, sell high on Condon now before his value drops.
Martin Hanzel has really broken out offensively for the Coyotes so far this season as he leads the team in points with 17 throughout his first 16 games. Hanzel has typically been known as a hard working player who contributes in majority of fantasy categories, be it fairly average, but fails to make it through a full season without injury. Hanzel has missed two games this season with a lower-body injury, but it hasn’t affected his play; since he returned to the lineup November 5 as he has seven points in the seven games since. Never one to shy away from shooting the puck, Hanzel has 35 shots over his first 16 games, but has only three goals to show for it. His shooting percentage of 8.6 may seem low, but it is important to remember that he has a career shooting percentage of 8.8 (so his puck luck isn’t as bad as many may perceive). Having already matched his power play production (in terms of points) from last season, be it in 21 less games, Hanzel is a safe bet to put in a starting position on your fantasy roster come Thursday night.
Top scorers for the Coyotes on the road this season are:
Martin Hanzel (13 points in 10 games)
Max Domi (11 points in 11 games)
Mikkel Boedker (10 points in 11 games)
Top scorers for the Canadiens at home this season are:
David Desharnais and Brendan Gallagher (both with 10 points in 10 games)
Tomas Fleischmann (9 points in 10 games)
Max Pacioretty and Tomas Plekanec (both with 8 points in 10 games)
